The World of the String Quartet

The World of the String Quartet

The World of the String Quartet

Curtis Institute of Music

About this course: Arnold Steinhardt, first violin of the internationally acclaimed Guarneri String Quartet, invites music listeners to the world of the string quartet repertoire and ensemble. Journey with him and interpretive analysis instructor Mia Chung through the history and features of quartet music, colored by stories of legendary quartets and insights from the stage.
This season's Curtis courses are sponsored by Linda Richardson in loving memory of her husband, Dr. Paul Richardson.

Welcome to the World of the String Quartet, where you will hear the extraordinary stories behind great repertoire, discover renowned performers' experiences, and develop keen insight as a listener. This first program samples stunning repertoire from some of the most significant composers: Ravel, Beethoven, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and Dvořák. What power can four instruments hold?

11 videos, 10 readings

Video: Welcome

Reading: Syllabus

Reading: Meet the Class

Video: A Musical Revolution

Video: String Quartet History

Reading: The Meaning of Four

Video: Introducing the Aizuri Quartet

Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Beethoven Op. 18, No. 1

Reading: A Quartet Sampler

Video: SCHUBERT "Rosamunde" Quartet, First Movement

Video: TCHAIKOVSKY Quartet No.1, Slow Movement

Video: DVORAK "American" Quartet, Scherzo Movement

Video: BEETHOVEN "Razumovsky" Quartet, Op. 59, No. 3, Finale

Reading: Performance: BEETHOVEN Op. 59, No. 3

Video: The Power Of The String Quartet

Reading: Listening List

Reading: 3 Short Questions

Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #1

Reading: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings

Reading: Explore More

Reading: Program 1 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 1-1

Graded: Quiz 1-2

WEEK 2

The Founders: Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven

We begin exploring string quartets during the Classical Era, when balanced structure emphasized variety, contrast, and drama. Discover the starting point of four democratic and personal string voices—and, before long, its development—with Haydn (Op. 33, No. 2, "The Joke"), Mozart (K. 465, "Dissonance"), and Beethoven (Op. 18, No. 1; Op. 130; and Op. 131). There was a dramatic change in performance from Beethoven's time to our own era. How did that happen?

12 videos, 6 readings

Video: The Classical Era

Video: Learning Library

Reading: Glossary

Video: The Four-Movement Quartet

Video: Haydn's Joke

Video: Mozart's "Wrong" Notes

Video: Romeo, Juliet, and Beethoven

Video: Six Mesmerizing Movements

Video: Nuts and Bolts: First Movement--Beethoven, Op. 130

Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Beethoven, Op. 130, Movt. 1

Reading: Performance: Beethoven, Op. 130

Video: Nuts and Bolts: First Movement--Beethoven, Op. 131

Reading: Performance: Beethoven, Op. 131

Video: Schuppanzigh to the Guarneri Quartet

Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #2

Reading: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings

Reading: String Quartet Guide

Reading: Program 2 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 2-1

Graded: Quiz 2-2

WEEK 3

The Humanists: Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms

Personal expression infused Romantic Era compositions, including the string quartets of Schubert (D. 810, "Death and the Maiden"), Mendelssohn (Op. 13 and Op. 80), Schumann (Op. 41, No. 3), and Brahms (Op. 51, No. 1). Yet in the generation after Beethoven's towering genius, composers wrote fewer quartets. Why? And where did the followers of Beethoven take the quartet next?

15 videos, 5 readings

Video: Romanticism, "the New Fantastic Essence"

Reading: Glossary

Video: Death and Schubert

Video: Nuts and Bolts: Slow Movement--Schubert, "Death and the Maiden"

Video: Aizuri Demonstration: 2nd Movt. Cello Variation

Reading: Performance: Schubert, "Death and the Maiden" Quartet

Video: Op. 13, an Homage to Beethoven

Video: Is It True?

Video: A Youthful, Masterful Quartet

Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Telling Op. 80's Story

Video: Schumann's Birthday Gift To Clara

Video: Schumann's Lofty Standards

Video: Brahms, Patient and Persevering

Video: Upholding Tradition

Video: Conversation: Fewer Quartets

Video: Joachim to the Busch String Quartet

Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #3

Reading: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings

Reading: String Quartet Guide

Reading: Program 3 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 3-1

Graded: Quiz 3-2

Graded: Quiz 3-3

WEEK 4

The Internationalists, Part 1: Smetana, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Borodin, and Bartok

Beyond German-speaking countries, composers adapted the string quartet to their own cultures—some more so than others. National traits, as well as personal stories, emerge in the heartfelt works of Smetana ("From My Life"), Dvořák (Op. 105), Tchaikovsky (Op. 22), Borodin (No. 2), and Bartók (No. 5). How does this very individual music convey its national identity?

10 videos, 6 readings

Video: Beyond Germany and Austria

Reading: Glossary

Video: Conversation: National Identity and Music

Video: A Tone Picture of Smetana's Life

Video: Absolutely Dvorak

Video: Tchaikovsky's Melancholy Tale

Video: In The Gardens of St. Petersburg with Borodin

Video: The Borodin and Kolisch Quartets

Video: Nuts and Bolts: Scherzo Movement--Bartok, Quartet No. 5

Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Quartet No. 5

Reading: Bonus--Aizuri Demonstration: Quartet No. 6

Reading: Performance: Bartok, Quartet No. 5

Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #4

Reading: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings

Reading: String Quartet Guide

Reading: Program 4 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 4-1

Graded: Quiz 4-2

WEEK 5

The Internationalists, Part 2: Debussy, Ravel, Barber, Shostakovich, and Britten

Our international tour continues with France (Debussy and Ravel) and the United States (Barber, Op. 11), a return to the former Soviet Union (Shostakovich, Op. 110), and then to England (Britten, Op. 94), as we follow string quartet stories and techniques from the 1800s into the 1900s. The discoveries of this recent past are preserved by the professional string quartets who worked with these brilliant composers. What do we learn from them—and, from our very own era, the career reflections of the Guarneri Quartet members?

14 videos, 6 readings

Video: The Turn of the 19th Century

Reading: Glossary

Video: Debussy's "Impressionism"

Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Debussy's Scherzo Movement

Reading: Performance: Debussy, Op. 10

Video: Comparing Debussy and Ravel

Video: A Masterpiece From Ravel

Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Ravel's Scherzo Movement

Video: Nuts and Bolts: Scherzo Movements--Debussy and Ravel

Reading: Performance: Ravel, Quartet in F minor

Video: Barber's Adagio for the Heart

Video: A Stunning Shostakovich Quartet

Video: Britten's Dying Chord

Video: Composers and Quartets

Video: Guarneri Conversation: Beginnings

Video: Guarneri Conversation: Four Egos, One Musical Conversation

Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #5

Reading: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings

Reading: String Quartet Guide

Reading: Program 5 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 5-1

Graded: Quiz 5-2

WEEK 6

The Explorers: Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, Ives, Cage, and Reich

This program's quartets were written during the 20th century, a time of technological exploration and avant-garde expression. Visionary composers such as Schoenberg (Op. 10), Webern (Op. 5), Berg (Lyric Suite), Ives (No. 1), Cage (String Quartet in Four Parts), and Reich (Different Trains) used four string instruments in ways far different than Haydn. What did these composers dare to do, and how does one play works that present an entirely new and unexplored language?

16 videos, 6 readings

Video: 20th-Century Explorers

Reading: Glossary

Video: Schoenberg at the Threshold

Video: Atonality and Expressionism

Video: Nuts and Bolts: Finales, Schoenberg

Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Quartet No. 2, IV. Entruckung

Reading: Performance: Schoenberg, Op. 10

Video: Webern In Miniature

Video: Berg's Dissonant Love Story

Video: Conversation: The Second Viennese School

Video: Conversation: American Modernists

Video: Hymns a la Ives

Video: Nuts and Bolts: Finales--Ives, Quartet No. 1

Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Quartet No. 1, IV. Allegro marziale

Reading: Performance: Ives, Quartet No. 1

Video: Cage's Four Seasons

Video: Rail Travel with Reich

Video: Premieres by Kolisch, Rose, and Kronos

Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #6

Reading: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings

Reading: String Quartet Guide

Reading: Program 6 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 6-1

Graded: Quiz 6-2

WEEK 7

Space Odyssey, the Next Frontier

We look ahead by first looking back: grappling with the dizzying innovation of Beethoven's late quartets (Op. 130 and the Great Fugue), which challenge performers and listeners still. Then we leap forward to the digital premiere of David Ludwig's breathtaking "Pale Blue Dot," performed by the Dover Quartet, for whom it was written in 2014. To what new frontiers will the seemingly simple yet endlessly varied combination of two violins, a viola, and a cello, take us next?

8 videos, 5 readings

Video: Welcome to the Future

Reading: Glossary

Video: Back To Beethoven

Video: Forever Contemporary

Video: A Complex Struggle

Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Beethoven, Op. 130 Cavatina

Video: Conversation: Confessions of Beethoven

Video: Pale Blue Dot Preview

Reading: Digital Premiere: Pale Blue Dot by David Ludwig

Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #7

Reading: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings

Reading: String Quartet Guide

Reading: Program 7 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 7-1

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Reading: Course Experience Survey

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Curtis Institute of Music

The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians for careers as performing artists on the highest professional level. Innovative programs encourage students to invent 21st-century musical careers through unique "learn by doing" opportunities and over 150 performances per year in Philadelphia and around the globe. One of the world’s leading conservatories, Curtis provides its 165 students with personalized attention from a celebrated faculty and has produced an impressive number of notable artists since its founding in 1924.

Ratings and Reviews

Rated 4.7 out of 5 of 247 ratings

This course strengthens me in the idea that well-practiced Music opens genuine communication networks - interaction between humans, feelings... - that tend to disappear nowaday.

Interesting background stories about composers and clear musical examples! Really nice to see how these personal stories have been composed into the string quarets. Well done!

DH

Wonderful broad survey of some of the significant repertoire for string quartet, from its inception in the classical period all the way up to the present day and beyond. Arnold Steinhardt and Mia Chung speak intelligently and engagingly about their chosen topics, and their areas of knowledge complement each other extremely well. Highly recommended for anyone looking to learn more about the genre of the string quartet!